An easy and delicious crab quiche, with fresh herbs and Gruyere or Swiss cheese. Perfect for any time of year or any time of day!
Why you’ll love this crab quiche recipe
- This delicious quiche is filled with crabmeat, combined with lots of fresh herbs and nutty Gruyere cheese (or Swiss, if you prefer).
- It bakes up beautifully with the additional chives on top, which make for a pretty presentation for entertaining.
- Using store-bought pie shells makes this quiche wonderfully easy!
Ingredients and substitutions
Crab – I love real, lump crab meat, either canned or frozen. If the cost is prohibitive where you live, you can substitute “mock” crab for a similar flavour profile. You can also substitute thawed, frozen cooked shrimp, for the crab.
Herbs – Fresh herbs are best here, if possible. I even love cilantro in this one, even though I’m not always a fan. I’ve provided some options and amounts for substituting dried herbs in place of fresh herbs in the Recipe Card, as well.
Cheese – I love the nutty flavour of Gruyere cheese and it will always be my first choice for this quiche. Alternately, go with Swiss or Emmental cheese, which is usually more economical and has a similar flavour profile.
Half and Half Cream – this is the 10% b.f. cream. I find it provides just the right amount of richness to this quiche. You can substitute milk, but the results will be less creamy of course, you can also substitute a heavier cream, for a richer quiche. A combination of heavy cream and milk would reasonably replicate the half and half cream, as well.
Pie Shell – I love the convenience of using store-bought pie shells, but you can certainly make your own pie shell, if you prefer.
Recipe tip!
I have not found that I need to par-bake the pie shell, but if you prefer, you can par-bake the empty pie shell for 8-10 minutes, let cool, then fill and bake.
Making ahead, storage and freezing
I find quiche holds up well making ahead and re-heating to serve. To re-heat, place onto a baking sheet and loosely cover with a piece of aluminum foil. Pop into a 350F oven until just warmed through, about 15-20 minutes.
This quiche keeps well in the fridge or freezer, so don’t hesitate to double the recipe and make two, to have an extra to enjoy later.
Quiche freezes well up to 3 months.
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Get the Recipe: Crab Quiche
Ingredients
- 1 9-inch frozen deep dish pie shell, thawed, unbaked
Filling:
- 5 large eggs
- 1 1/2 cups half and half cream, 10% b.f.
- 2 Tablespoons finely chopped fresh chives, plus whole chives for topping, or 1/2 teaspoon dried chives
- 2 Tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley, or 1/2 teaspoon dried
- 2 Tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro, or 1/2 teaspoon dried, or omit and use more parsley
- 1/4 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning, or substitute a pinch of celery salt and a pinch of paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 cup Gruyere cheese, grated, or substitute Swiss or Emmental
- 1/2 lb. lump crabmeat, canned or thawed if frozen, and picked over
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375F. (not fan assisted) with rack in the centre of the oven.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, cream, herbs and seasoning. Stir in grated cheese and crabmeat.
- Pour the egg mixture into thawed, unbaked pie crust (you may have a tiny bit of filling that won't fit). Use a fork to gently distribute the crab and herbs evenly in the pan. Lay several whole chives across the top.
- Bake quiche until filling puffs and is no longer wobbly in centre when quiche is gently shaken, about 40-45 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes before serving.
Notes
More quiche recipes to love!
Hi! I’m Jennifer, a home cook schooled by trial and error and almost 40 years of getting dinner on the table! I love to share my favourite recipes, both old and new, together with lots of tips and tricks to hopefully help make your home cooking enjoyable, stress free, rewarding and of course, delicious!
In recipe, you mentioned noting suggested herbs to add / as substitution. I see reference to adding in cilantro but don’t see any other mention of how much? What is your recommendation with the cilantro?
Hi Kelly, there is cilantro in the recipe with the amounts specified in both fresh and dried cilantro amounts.
Hi!
In the recipe photo I see bits of something red. Is there diced red bell pepper (or another ingredient) in this?
Looking forward to making this tomorrow!
Bonnie
Hi Bonnie and no, the red bits are from the crab itself. That said, red bell pepper wouldn’t be out of place in the quiche if the idea appeals to you.
I’m a West-coaster so lots of Dungeness however I see recipes for lump crab regularly. Is this an East-coast item? Do you only buy this frozen or canned? No fresh?
Thanks.
Holly
Hi Holly and I imagine lump crab is available widely as it is usually frozen, so is easily available. It’s the crab of choice for me for dishes such as this quiche, crab salad or crab cakes. No need to get expensive fresh (or frozen) crab for these types of dishes really.
Can this be made crustless?
Hi Deb and yes, I think it could.